ZIP 90254 vs ZIP 90266

This side-by-side compares ZIP 90254 (Hermosa Beach, CA) and ZIP 90266 (Manhattan Beach, CA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 90254 has a population of 19,506 at 5,279 people per square mile, while ZIP 90266 has 35,135 at 3,446 per square mile. That difference in population size and density alone reshapes how every other metric should be interpreted — a higher-income ZIP with 1,200 residents behaves very differently from one with 45,000.

On income and education, ZIP 90254 reports a median household income of $166,442 against $204,306 in ZIP 90266, with per-capita income of $111,872 vs $118,152. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 76.0% in 90254 and 78.9% in 90266. Poverty rate reads 5.6% vs 4.5%, and unemployment 5.4% vs 3.8% — these four fields alone drive most of the difference in the scorecard grades you will see for each ZIP.

Housing separates these two ZIPs further: median home value sits at $2,000,001 in 90254 versus $2,000,001 in 90266, with median rent of $2,887 and $3,449 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 50.6% vs 64.8%. When reading the comparison table below, focus on paired metrics rather than single winners — a ZIP with lower home values and lower income is not strictly "worse" if rent-to-income ratios and commute times land in the same zone. Every value is pulled from the exact same ACS table so the two columns are genuinely comparable.